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» Hope to all my suffering ladies
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptyFri Oct 23, 2020 12:04 am by ringostarr26

» Please tell me this can get better
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptySat Jul 18, 2020 7:38 pm by sammykramer

» By no means cured, but doing much better!
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptyMon Mar 16, 2020 1:26 pm by tinkerbelle2

» How I cured my Vulvodynia!
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptySat Dec 07, 2019 11:54 am by Millie

» 7 months since the diagnosis
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptyWed Aug 14, 2019 2:38 am by agtoronto

» Gabapentin Gel. or other topical creams
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptySat Jun 15, 2019 5:22 pm by mary jane

» IMPORTANT FOR UK SUFFERERS
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptySat Jun 15, 2019 5:21 pm by mary jane

» Help New Diagnosis
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptySat Jun 15, 2019 5:07 pm by mary jane

» 6 days post Vestibulectomy - Is this normal?? please tell me about your postop healing process!
Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery EmptyTue Jun 11, 2019 12:56 am by VVSSufferer

Gabapentin Gel. or other topical creams

Thu May 10, 2018 9:43 am by Rosie21

Hi I have been suffering for some years with this abominable pain. I have tried most of the systemic drugs , I asked specialists and Doctors if I could at least try a topical treatment but because this requires a special prescription have been refused Has anybody had a chance of trying these? Thank you I will try to put a link on to some of the research into Gabapentin Gel. Thanks.

Comments: 2

Putnams 'bony parts' cushion or Putnams 'Dr Huff' cushion - which is best?

Sat Aug 01, 2015 4:17 pm by Fielder

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie.  I live in the UK.  

I'm trying to work out the best cushion to get for my vulvodynia.  I suspect that I could have pudendal nerve involvement (the aching and burning pain is from vagina to clitoris) and I have rectocele and some tailbone pain too.

I have seen some good reports on older threads regarding the Putnams pressure relief cushions....with some ladies …

Comments: 11

An absolute success story- please read!

Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:57 pm by Persevere1990

Dear All,

I posted on here back in March 2017 having just got a diagnosis of vulvodynia after a few months of relentless and acute pain. I was desperate, I was hurting, I was scared I would never know life without pain there again.

I tried creams, acupuncture, numbing gels, frozen pads, baths with various internet recommended concoctions- convinced myself I had lichen sclerosus, herpes, thrush- …

Comments: 0

I'm sorry im rambling

Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:49 am by Jet227

hey, im 19, ive been struggling with this almost a year. The first week I became itchy I went in to check about a yeast infection another week later. I have been to 10 different doctors a total of about 15 appointments for this problem for the past 11 months. I have been tested for everything including having a biopsy. I was first told basically to just go home and use hydrocortazone, then I went …

Comments: 1

New member need advice please

Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:33 pm by PANDORA123

Hello, I have just been diagnosed with unprovoked vulvodynia. Im really scared and worried. It burns a lot and it hurts to sit down. I have been prescribed amitriptyle 10mg. Can anyone give me some hope that I can get better from this condition. Feeling low and depressed.

Thanks

Comments: 5

MonaLisa Touch

Fri Feb 08, 2019 7:35 pm by rl2091

Hi All,

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the MonaLisa Touch treatment for Vulvodynia? My pain started when I went on HRT(pill) for anxiety mainly and my pain abruntly stopped when I stopped HRT. However, when I started on the HRT patch (at my dr's suggestion), the pain returned and has never left. That was 7 years ago. I found MonaLisa Touch on the internet purely by accident …

Comments: 3

Diagnosed Recently

Tue Jan 08, 2019 3:55 pm by flissyg

Hi All,

I’m so glad I’ve found a place where there are others who understand how I feel!

So this is my story:-

I’m 36,  and 4 months ago, whilst innocently sitting in bed reading I experienced a very sharp stabbing pain in my clitoris. It last only a few minutes and then subsided as quickly as it came on. It put it down to “one of those things”.  The following morning I woke up …

Comments: 4

New and need advice and help

Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:26 pm by Cin124

Hi everyone,

About three months ago, I started having vaginal and vulval itching. Then, about two months ago, my vulva started to feel painful and look swollen, so I went to the doctor. I was tested for herpes, chlamydia, and gonorrhea which all came back negative. I also had to do a vaginal swab test and the only thing that came back positive was yeast infection. I was prescribed hydrozole …

Comments: 6

New here would very much appreciate advice at the end of my rope

Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:09 pm by Jma990o

This might be a little long but it's been such a long time I've even been able to talk about my problems openly thank you in advance for any helpful advice.
So ok I'm 24 I've been having this problem for over two years seen quite a few doctors and obgyns alike and nobody will take me seriously I have had a few utis and yeast infections and even bv once and this all started after one of the utis …

Comments: 3


Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery

3 posters

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Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery Empty Surgery Update - 5 Week Post-Surgery

Post  jjr23 Sun Sep 18, 2016 12:26 pm

Hey everyone,

It's been 5 weeks since my vestibulectomy. The outcome is not known yet because I am still recovering. My next appointment with my surgeon is in about 4 weeks, and I will let you guys know how that goes.

The purpose of this post is to share with you my personal experience with the recovery process so far, as there isn't much information about it on the internet! I know some of you are curious about the surgery recovery, so here is a detailed explanation of my experience so far.

The first two weeks were the hardest and most painful. I spent the majority of my waking hours lying down on the couch on my back. I couldn't put any pressure on my bum or around that area, so I definitely couldn't sit down or even lounge back. Walking was also hard. I took little steps, had my knees bent a little, and leaned forward/over a bit. The only walking I did was walking from the couch to the toilet, and from the toilet to the couch. (I slept on the couch in the living room for the first 2 weeks as I live at home with my parents and it was nice being surrounded by them for support and company).

The pain wasn't constant 24/7. The pain medication was very helpful. I used ice packs (frozen peas) a lot for the first few days which also relieved the pain. There were some moments where the pain was very painful.. but I kept telling myself 'short term pain for long term gain'. I had warm salt baths 2 or 3 times a day to keep the area clean. I used baby wipes after going to the toilet, very gently.

I saw my surgeon one week after surgery. This is a standard appointment where he checks that everything is healing as it should and that nothing is sticking together. I used a medical ring/donut cushion to sit on for the car travel. I sat in the front passenger seat and reclined the chair fully back so that pressure would be taken off my bum and more on my back.

The third week was slightly better than the first two weeks. I was still walking weirdly and definitely couldn't sit. The ring/donut cushion didn't give me much relief to sit on, because the areas that touch the cushion (the outside areas of my bum) sort of squish and put pressure on the sore bits. So I was still spending most of my time laying on my back on the couch or bed, or standing to eat and do uni homework. I was walking with little steps. I couldn't take full walking strides as this would be sore and pull on the stitches. A lot of the bruising and swelling had gone down. I was still have warm salt baths twice a day.

I was slowly improving. By the fourth week I could sit on the ring cushion for short periods. The harsh sharp shooting and cutting pain was now more of a sore dull pain. One side was more painful than the other. Bending down and arranging my body was still sore. Until now I could only sleep on my back with a pillow under my knees, but I was now starting to sleep on my side (but with a pillow inbetween my legs to take pressure off the sore area).

Although everyone says not to look in a mirror, I did this everyday. It was hard not to. I wanted to monitor my progress. I even took pictures. I was kind of obsessed. I didn't want anything to go wrong.

In the third/fourth week I noticed a lump on one side, near the opening of my vagina. It was sore to touch and it was that exact spot that was very painful when I tried sitting. I rang my surgeon and he said I could come in to see what it was. I suspected that it was a bartholin cyst, but he said that was very unlikely. He looked at it and prodded around. It was painful for him to touch. He didn't know what it was. He said lumps can be a normal part of the healing process and that it was way too soon for him to say it was something of concern, and that even if it was a cyst of some kind, he wouldn't touch it or treat it while I was still healing. He said to wait until my next appointment.

Although he didn't seem worried about it, it was so hard for me not to stress! I have anxiety and this whole recovery process has been so stressful - not knowing what to expect, now knowing what is normal, now knowing when I should and shouldn't feel pain, etc etc. I've been through so much, and not knowing things is hard for me to deal with. I try to stay positive but my brain has some bad habits.

I've had some really dark moments during my recovery where I have just crawled up in a ball and cried. When will this pain go away?!

I have felt more positive in the past few days (my fifth week post-op). I can now walk almost completely normally without pain (there is more of a discomfort, dry sort of feeling). I can't walk very far yet but I'm definitely making progress. I returned to uni and brought my ring cushion to sit on in class. Apart from that, I haven't left the house much at all. I've only left the house 3 times in the past 5 weeks (twice to see my surgeon and once to my uni class). This has been my decision though. I don't feel ready to return to normal things like catching up with friends. I don't feel comfortable bringing my ring cushion to a cafe/restaurant for example (for three reasons: its sort of embarrassing, I haven't told many friends that I've had surgery, and it isn't even that comfy to sit on). So while I'm at home I'm still spending a lot of my time laying down or standing. It's just more comfy. The ring cushion is kind of annoying and hurts my back.

I'm still having warm baths, just once a day. Baths are not necessary for the stage that I am at but I feel a lot cleaner in the sense that a bath makes sure that water really gets around and in the area, rather than a shower where the water runs down and doesn't really reach the stitches or area where the stitches were.

I knew this recovery process wasn't going to be quick or easy. I knew there were going to be moments where I was frustrated, impatient, upset and stressed. I still feel those emotions at times. The lump (and pain associated with it) are still there. The lump has gone down in size, thank god, and isn't as painful as it was a couple of weeks ago, but it is still there. I'm hoping that it will continue to decrease in size and pain and eventually resolve itself. Other than the lump pain, there isn't much other pain - just general discomfort that is also slowly fading. I still can't sit without discomfort/pain. It's slowly getting better... very slowly.

Obviously I haven't had the q-tip test done in any of the appointments I've had since the surgery, as it was too soon. But I'm sure my surgeon will do this for my next appointment which is in mid-October.

I know that was a very long post but I wanted to share it because it's hard to find something this detailed and of personal experience on the internet. I hope this has been a helpful source of information for you all xx

jjr23

Posts : 13
Join date : 2016-08-23
Location : Australia

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Post  emalita Sun Sep 18, 2016 10:01 pm

That's great that you're seeing improvement! I hope it will only get better and better for you Very Happy

emalita

Posts : 249
Join date : 2016-03-29
Location : USA

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Post  qwerty1 Tue Oct 18, 2016 11:57 am

Do you have any update? No surgery recovery stories on here really:(

qwerty1

Posts : 5
Join date : 2016-10-01

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